Digital 395 breaks ground in Inyokern

Underground construction on the Digital 395 Middle Mile digital network commenced in Inyokern Friday, according to the CEO of Praxis Associates.

By Jack Barnwelljbarnwell@ridgecrestca.com

Underground construction on the Digital 395 Middle Mile digital network commenced in Inyokern Friday, according to the CEO of Praxis Associates."What we're doing is we're working back toward Ridgecreset," Mike Ort, the Praxis CEO, said Friday by phone.Praxis is the lead company in charge of overseeing construction efforts, using local subcontractors where applicable.Ort said underground construction would move throughout the area, including along Inyokern Road and to Inyokern Airport.Nicole Hale, assistant manager of the Indian Wells Valley Airport District, said Friday there is expected to be planned construction in the near future, but could not confirm a date.The Digital 395 project is a 600-plus mile digital network designed to vastly upgrade the digital broadband and communications network in the Eastern Sierra region from Barstow to Reno, Nev., most of which has been underserved or unserved for decades. The network runs parallel to U.S. Highway 395 and Highway 58.While the project will focus primarily on "middle mile" or government, educational and public safety institutions, the project will allow "last-mile," or private service providers, to hook into the system as well. Digital 395 is being funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the California Public Utilities Commission's California Advanced Services Fund for a tidy sum of $101 million, making it one of the largest public broadband projects in history.Ort said progress was already being made on approximately 250 "anchors," or connection sites along the network.In addition to the work in and around Inyokern, Ort said crews were in the process of hooking up physical connections in Ridgecrest as well."One of our first connections will be at one of the schools," Ort said.However, he stressed it was just the physical hookups, as the network has yet to light up.Donnie Morrison, Sierra Sands Unified School District's director of technology, confirmed Friday most of the schools were hooked up with conduits, except for Richmond Elementary, Murray Middle School and Rand Elementary in Johannesburg."They have everything ready up to where they will pull the fiber through," Morrison said. He said he expected a fiber hookup date the week of May 20, but said it was still tentative.On a broader scale, the project is rolling along on a mostly regular schedule. Praxis is main working on the main conduit process in Mono County."We're wrapping up most of our construction as we speak," he said.Ort said the only holdup was pending construction in parts of the Inyo National Forest."We're working through twenty miles of the forest," Ort said. "We hope to have a solution within the next month."Praxis contract crews have had to be very observant of environmental, cultural and wildlife impacts, often having to work within tight restraints issued by various agencies. Praxis and its subcontractors face a July 30 deadline to complete the project construction."We may apply for an extension as a buffer and there might be a straggler anchor connection or two," Ort said.However, he remained optimistic that it would not be necessary."Our goal is to be substantially done with construction by the end of July," Ort said.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.